Pandemic
“Three cast changes have been made for tonight’s performance of Les Contes d’Hoffmann due to illness. Rachele Gilmore will make her Met debut replacing Kathleen Kim in the role of Olympia. Laura Vlasek Nolan replaces Ekaterina Gubanova as Giulietta. Joel Sorensen sings the roles of the four servants – Andrès, Frantz, Cochenille, and Pitichinaccio – replacing Alan Oke.” [The Met]
yeh- kah- tih- REE- nuh goo- BAH -nah – vuh
Nothing impossible about it!
I always have trouble with “Mary Jane Wray”
Possibly because it’s really Margaret Jane Wray.
Tonight was the best performance of Hoffmann I have attended here. I just got home and I am still reeling about it. From the replacements I only missed Alan Oke. The new olympia Laura Gilmore showed the visceral “gutts” it had to take to sing that aria like that. The audience loved her. Personally I do not care for the High A’s as they sound too screechy in that unhuman register but she obiously has buckets of talent and displayed no nervousness whatsoever. Nolin was very good – some pitch issues but that can be put down to nervousness. The core timbre is beautiful and she moved well on stage. A slight difference she also took both high notes with Calleja in their duet.
Netrebko has a beautiful timbre but thats it. I love this singer and she is blessed with a “rolls royce of a voice” but she can’t sing piano. “elle a fuis” was really painful and what made it worse is that she displayed how it could really sound in some bars.Her act was marred by dodgy intonation throughout and this happened during the other performances I have attended. I write this only because I love her voice so much and because I think she is simply lazy or not disciplined. Hope she has someone who loves her close to her and tells her this. She really could be one of the greatest full lyric sopranos if she wants to.
The star of the show Calleja who was given an incredible ovation at the end showed us all that he was REALLY sick in the beginning of the run. Tonight he displayed an incredible mastery of the role. Suave legato, seamless phrases and diminendi which were truly ravishing. I still have some of his high notes ringing in my ear – most notably “Un automate” and “die de quell ivresse.”
The more I see this the more I enjoy the production. Whether its due to it “sinking” in or the ease the artists are displaying I do not know. My moan would be the additional music they put in this version. Its a bit too much and sorry I think the ending is an anti climax.
Sorry for the rant but this was a great night at the opera with truly fabolos artists.
I have to disagree. I have seen this performance 3 times in the theater and Calleja gets through the role but that is about it. His voice is big and has beautiful coloring but he brings nothing to it musically which is a shame. He has not enough consistent power to sustain climaxes, his phrasing is generally clipped, he has no float which is necessary for this style and his nasality and bleat mar an otherwise thouroughbred instrument. Via Sirius last night I thought netrebko was not at her best, the Nolen girl I would have enjoyed as Niklausse but the voice was not luxurious enough for Giulietta, Kate Lindsay to my ear sound like a provincial Susanna although she has improved over the course of the run. The Gilmore girl was intriguing, she has a timbre that sounds about right for the Bel Canto rep. As I only could rely on Sirius her voice seemed to be quite present, is her voice large enough to sing things like Gilda, Lucia, Sonnambula, and Adina at the MET? Her accuti were astonishing but her middle voice appeared to be very warm and full, not your typical coloratura.
Well anyways, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all.
Tastes are tastes and I respect your take of course except the part where you wrote “he can’t sustain climaxes” trust me when I say that in the house he not only sustained these climaxes but dominated the ensemble singing. It might be that when you heard him he wasn’t at his best. I saw the last three performances and he was sublime in all three of them. Also on the radio I do not hear a bleat although I agree that the nasality crops in from time to time.
I was also there tonight and agree about the generally high level of the singing–especially Calleja, who didn’t seem to tire at all. But I thought the production was dull and bland. Bits that usually inspire some sort of directorial or scenic coups, like the destruction of the doll or the appearance of Antonia’s mother, went for almost nothing. And why was Nicklausse hanging around during every scene? She was on stage more than Hoffmann. I did like the different music at the end, though. Anything’s better than another repeat of that drinking chorus.
I was also there tonight & really enjoyed it. Gilmore was great so was everyone else really. Netrebko let me down she messed up the trill again & sounded sluggish throughout. Calleja was really great & deserved all of the applause.
ah, the trill. the trill is impossible so i don’t blame her for messing it up.
I disagree. I have heard sopranos who sing much bigger rep trill like nobody’s business. Tyla Robinson, for one had one hell of a fabulous trill when she did Mrs. Ford at IU. Eva Marton (yes, Marton!) executed perfect trills in her Manon Lescaut back in the 80′s in Spain. Carol Vaness sang perfect trills as Vittelia, Fiordiliggi and Donna Anna; I am sure her trill as Antonia was just fine. Martina Arroyo had a good trill, so did Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Julia Varady, .
I agree that trilling is hard. I have pretty much lost mine. But it is not impossible. As Freida Leider amply demonstrates:
http://files1.mailboxdrive.com/mp3s-new/t/tenore23@yahoo.com/972090.mp3
wow…you’re not kidding! It probably helps that she had a fast vibrato.
Yowza – that’s a hell of a trill. But always interesting when listen to singers of this time that MANY of them can’t sustain the breath to the ends of phrases … the sound sorta dies away unsupported or somink thereabouts…
I personally love/rate L Price’s trill as nthe ebst. I refer to the Mehta “D’amor sull’ali rosee”
Indeed, in addition to the provincial artists Mr. Almaviva mentions, Austral and Easton had terrific trills.
Steber had a great trill, and one time (only) I heard Kirsten execute a fine trill in Manon Lescaut – perhaps the one of her career
Everyone who heard it was astonished!
If you have a trill, you have it; but it takes
maintenance work. It’s absolutely a ‘mental’
condition, and takes a certain concentration.
I guess it is different for everyone. Some days its easy. Then there are the days it takes a jot of vibrato, a big dollop of wobble with a dash of jaw action to fake a trill …
I love her in this aria…and the trills are stunning! She’s also phenomenal in the Kaiserin’s music from frau…the trill at the beginning is incredibly well executed.
Check out Swenson’s trill in the Paris Opera Hoffmann.Magic!
Swenson has always had a great trill.
Just a little trip down recent memory lane. Any of you remember the “Hoffmann” revival where Ruth Ann Swenson played all three heroines with Neil Shicoff and Bryn Terfel?
Well, Levine was ill for the first night (which was January 27, 2000) and Franz Vote conducted in his place. Evidently as Giulietta, Swenson wanted to cap the septet with the “Sutherland” high E flat climax. Levine nixed it saying that it was not in the score. Neither frankly is the septet if we are going by what the composer actually wrote. Frankly, whatever notes you want to end the septet and “Scintille Diamant” with are kosher since Offenbach had nothing to do with either piece of music.
Anyway, on the opening night show Swenson asked Vote if she could sing the E flat and he said yes. She hit it stunningly and it was great but she wasn’t allowed to repeat it. Supposedly, when Levine found out about Swenson going behind his back and doing something he had forbade her to do he was furious. Levine told the Met administration that he would never conduct Swenson again in anything. And Vote came back for 2 “Ballo” performances the next season and that was it for him.
Remember the French singer Mado Robin who could fit a top G#. It is clearly documented on recordings.. It was reputed that during one Rigoletto in San Francisco she actually hit a B above top C..and the conductor went mad…and the audience went wild with appreciation and astonishment.
Well, he is at it again. He gave Katleen Kim the ornamentation that he wanted her to sing and she was not allowed to veer from the page he gave her.
As you, I have to wonder how much it is about Offenbach and how much it is about Levine.
Levine conducted Swenson in RIGOLETTO when the Met went to Japan in 2001 and also L’ENFANT in 2002.
Mado Robin was recorded singing as high as Bb over High C.
Is this the sole reason that Swenson hasn’t appeared much at the Met during the last few years? That’s just sad.
No, the sole reason Swenson hasn’t appeared much at the Met lately is that she’s a boring middle-aged soubrette who’s been coasting for the past 15 years.
Swenson can be boring, but when on form she can be excellent via virtually flawless lyric-coloratura vocalism. Her
Massenet Manons in SanFrancisco were perfection; even Jerry Hadley faking his way thru DesGrieux could not bring her down; in Baby Doe she bored me to death, but again in SFO in a remarkably ‘on’ night, she was a Lucia of your dreams. When she was good she was really good – mainly via vocal means, not histrionic etc. Let’s remember that about RAS when she is being bashed.
La Cieca: that’ll do it.
LaC im guessing you don’t like RAS?
Not that La Cieca needs defending, but as much as i like Swenson, Cieca is right on point. Swenson is a whole list of promises unfulfilled. Her Ines in Africanne was fabulous, he Lucia was splendidly vocalized, but on the boring side. Her take on heavier rep, like Violetta, Mimi and Liu was vocally flawed and incredibly boring. Her Zerbinetta was, well, OK vocally (I didn’t see her in the role so I don’t know how she was in other depts).
I have heard that she is at her best when playing cute and coy. A friend saw her as Norina and apparently she was excellent, her Rosina was allegedly OK, so I’ve been told was her Zerlina. Those are roles that soubrettes excel on, but they get tiresome quick, as evidence by her last rosinas at the Met; they were vocally boring (at least as broadcast).
I know that she has lately taken on Adalgisa and the Countes in Figaro. Maybe she needs to take on parts that are more placid: Marchallin, Maybe Donna Elvira, go back to Ilia (but after the tour de force Dorothea Röschmann gave, it will be hard to follow that up).
Unfortunately it is true. RAS can be a true bore.
Why is it considered an insult when someone calls a singer a boring middle-aged soubrette? Boring middle-aged soubrette pride!
Call me old fashioned-to quote Dame Edna-but I have heard Swenson at the Met as Adina ,in Paris as Antonia and Giulietta,and in London as Semele and in all roles she was vocally superb.To describe her as a soubrette is way off the mark,but I don’t live in NY and have’nt been exposed tp what is perceived as ‘boringness’.Dessay is thought to be vital and theatrical but I have seen her often in Europe and find her theatricality deeply embarrassing in similar repertoire.Just as Steber was written off in her later years I think time will be kind to Swenson and she will be remembered for her exquisite musicality and sincere dedication.She is a real artist .
I think that Swenson’s voice has developed and deepened and she is more a fullsome lyric now than a soubrette. I’ve only heard her in coloratura roles like Lucia and Gilda, in which she was wonderful. But her strength has always been her strong vocalism. Because she no longer sings those high-lying roles, she has to bring more to the table artistically to make a strong impact. From what I’ve heard, her attempts in this regard (like Violetta) have not been a great success. So, I see her as a singer who has received acclaim that is proportionate to her singing. When she was singing high-lying coloratura roles, she was a big deal. Now, that her voice has deepened and her repertoire has had to change, she has not experienced the same level of success.
I did, apparently, see/hear her Countess in Figaro in SF (judging from my programs), but I’m afraid I can’t remember a thing about her performance.
RAS is a favorite of one of my friends (the same one who doesn’t like Otello or Fanciulla because of too few female arias).
lacieca, are you trying to outbitch operabitchwhore? chacun a son gout, but that’s not a very accurate assessment.
lindoro, i saw RAS as zerbie in the mid- or late-90′s. she stole the evening from a rather svelte jessye that evening.
If you saw Swenson as Zerbinetta at the Met, that would have been at the latest in March of 1993. That’s more than 15 years ago.
I would agree with La Cieca calling RAS boring. She was boring, most of the time. But I wouldn’t describe her voice as a soubrette. Even in her prime her voice was richer and creamier than your typical soubrette sound. She was a good vocalist. I use the past tense because I haven’t heard her in at least 6 years so I have no idea how she sounds now. She had correct agility and nice pianos and so on, but generally bland. I have always considered Gilda as her best role. Her Caro Nome was exquisite.
I agree, Dawson: RAS had a fine voice, which made it all the more maddening that she had nothing to say.
Gilmore is beloved here in Indy – the Olympia in our Hoffmann a couple years ago brought huge raves….and she took the Ab then, too. The Zerbinetta was lovely this fall, also. It’s a good voice, well-controlled. The recording on her website of Una Voce is good, too, if a tad bit back in placement. Her acuti are definitely her strong suit, but she’s lovely to look at also, and acts decently.
Rachele Gilmore is certainly a very pretty girl and the voice sounds good on her website. Not thin or squeaky.
Remember that famous phone call to Roberta Peters from Rudolf Bing?
Could history be repeating itself with the spectacular coloratura Rachele Gilmore?
She sure deserves it!!